Searching for Covenantal Judaism
“Most American Jews that gravitate to Chabad Houses… like the feel of “doing the real thing,” even if they don’t show up every week.” Rabbi Sid Schwarz, Jewish Megatrends This statement caught my attention for a couple of reasons. Raised as a tribal Jew in the Bronx (my early narrative shares many similarities with that of […]
A Center for the Study of Existential Torah
I am reluctant to say that Etz Hasadeh, a center for the study of existential Torah, is guided by a single value, especially since, as Heidegger teaches, a value is, as its name implies, relative. To say truth is a value is already to devalue it, to make it seem to be valuable only insofar […]
Craig Taubman
Rabbi Sid’s essay analyzing the state of the American Jewish community was thoughtful and on the mark. I appreciated his perspective, agreed with most of his ideas and adored others. His assessment that the 21st century cries out for a spiritual response is spot on and applies to the Jewish community as well as other faith communities. Here […]
Misha Shulman
The School for Creative Judaism was born in an apartment in the Upper East Side on a cold Friday evening in January around a decade ago. Around 60 people aged 4 to 80, most with very little Jewish knowledge beyond what I had been teaching them, were gathered in a living room for a Shabbat […]
Ruth Schapira
What Jewish spiritual practices will help bring my life meaning? What in our Jewish tradition can help me get over life’s hurdles? What can I do to increase engagement with holiness in my community? These questions often prompt a journey that may lead to the discovery of Mussar[1]. The purpose of Mussar is to help […]
Rabbi Regina Sandler-Phillips
A quarter-century has now passed since I was first introduced to the vital Jewish principles known as “ways of peace” (darkhei shalom) during a five-year sojourn in Israel. Having emerged from the 1991 Gulf War during that sojourn, I found the practical orientation of “ways of peace” both compelling and timeless. Here were 1800 years of spiritual […]
Irene Lehrer Sandalow
“I see the American Jewish community of five million as being like an enterprise with two, roughly equal divisions: one healthy and engaged in all aspects of Jewish life—religious, cultural, political; the other division is near bankruptcy and challenges the health of the overall American Jewish venture.” Rabbi Sid Schwarz in Jewish Megatrends When I […]
Rabbi Jan Salzman
Wisdom/Chochma: We are a new community that has built a presence in the context of Vermont over the 1.5 years we’ve been operating. Most of our families are intermarried and the great outdoors takes precedence over a family’s time (along with music lessons and so much else). I struggle with a foundational question: How am […]
Rabbi Isaiah Rothstein
They were older than me, by at least five years, and I was afraid. Though my Satmar Hasidic neighbors were my friends, their cousins usually approached me with disdain whenever I’d go over for a playdate. On one occasion, they bullied me and lifted my shirt up. He asked “where are your tzizis?” Feeling uncomfortable, […]
Jon Adam Ross
Wisdom is a word that makes me uncomfortable. I think it’s because it sounds proprietary. Wisdom is something that can be acquired and dispensed. It’s an asset. I feel more comfortable with the words ‘context’ and ‘perspective’ instead. If the aim of the first proposition in Rabbi Sid’s essay is to give people access to […]
Ahava Rosenthal
Among the propositions Rabbi Sid outlines in the opening chapter of his book, Jewish Megatrends, two of them speak most directly to the objectives and outcomes of the Parenting Through a Jewish Lens program at Hebrew College: chochma, and kehillah. As parents are given the opportunity to view their world through the lens of chochma, […]
Kasey Passen
My work at OneTable advances Jewish life by providing a sense of community for Jewish millennials. At a time where most young Jews are turning away from traditional temple memberships, we know that they wish to connect and build Jewish identity and a sense of community. The weekly moment of unplugging and connecting with intention, […]
Kohenet Stacey-Sephirah Oshkello
Each of the four propositions from Rabbi Sid’s essay are reflected in the seven pillars that are the foundation of Living Tree Alliance. Our three-fold initiative includes a residential co-housing development, a working lands cooperative, and an enrichment program. In each facet we are bridging Jewish wisdom with a communal homesteading lifestyle. Our programs are […]
Rabbi Dev Noily
Sid Schwarz writes about tzedek, or pursuing justice, as one key to building lively, meaningful and healthy Jewish communities. My understanding of how we pursue justice in Jewish community in the U.S. is shifting, especially around the relationship that white Jews have with historic and current structures of white supremacy. Maybe because my father and […]
Elad Nehorai
It was a fascinating experience to read Sid Schwarz’s essay. It was, in many ways, like being able to see so much of what I’ve experienced on an intuitive level, written out and explained. And, in that sense, it very much helped me understand the role I believe Hevria has in the Jewish world’s future. […]
Kohenet Annie Matan
I am a freelance Spiritual Leader and Founder of Matanot Lev (Gifts of the Heart), a radically inclusive Jewish community in Toronto. I specialize in creating and facilitating sacred experiences through a Jewish lens for people of all backgrounds. I widen the gateways of access to Jewish community, helping seekers find welcome and wisdom in […]
Elan Margulies
In the last twenty years, more than 100,000 Jewish children, teachers and young adults have participated in the transformative experience of Teva: immersing themselves in the rhythms of the natural world, learning about the Jewish values of stewardship, and developing a deep commitment to tikkun olam. Kedusha-Lives of Sacred Purpose The program integrates the study […]
Leora Mallach
At its heart, Beantown Jewish Gardens is a community-building organization. The proposition of kehillah/community, therefore resonates most with the work we do. We are making connections among the greater Boston Jewish community- between congregations, across affiliations, denominations, and age cohorts. Beantown Jewish Gardens (Ganei Beantown) is building community through experiential food and agriculture education rooted […]
Naomi Malka
The thesis in Rabbi Sid Schwarz’s introduction to Jewish Megatrends implies that generations of Jews who came of age in the 1980s and beyond lack a central, defining reason to affiliate with the Jewish community or even to carry a primary identity as a Jew. Previous generations were profoundly affected by seminal events in world […]
Jeff Levy-Lyons
The Schwarz essay feels right on target for addressing the challenges of modern Jewish institutions. It also aligns well with the work I’m doing on the climate crisis and the ways in which I see that work being healthy for the Jewish people. I sit on the steering committee the Jewish Climate Action Network (JCAN) […]
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